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Former Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh has often slammed his father Yograj Singh for his parenting style. He has always described his relationship with his dad as ‘highly strained’ because of his intense and abusive training methods as his coach, leading to prolonged resentment in him as a child. And now, Yuvraj, who is a father of two himself, has opened up about fatherhood and his own parenting approach.
During an interview with My FM India, he spoke about how his life changed after becoming a father and said, “Oh, life’s been amazing. I think meri maa mujhe bolti hoti thi, ya dad mujhe bolte the, ‘Jab tera bachcha hoga na tab tujhe pata lagega kya hota hai woh pyaar.’ I think woh pyaar ek aisa hai jo aapko experience karna chahiye (My parents would say you will understand us once you have kids. The love for your kids is something only you can understand). It is an amazing feeling to be a dad.”
The former cricketer further added, “Jaise-jaise mere bachche bade ho rahe hain, interactions, aapke khud ke genetics, usi tarah harkatein thoda usi tarah dikhna (As my kids are growing up, our interactions and I am seeing a mini-me in them). I think it’s the best feeling in the world to be a parent. It’s hard for all parents, but it’s just amazing to be a dad.” Yuvraj Singh has two children – son Orion and daughter Aura, with wife Hazel Keech.
Yuvraj Singh, the son of former cricketer-actor Yograj Singh and Shabhnam Singh, also shared how he would have a different parenting style from the previous generation. When asked about his reaction to his kids not following the cricket footsteps and choosing a different career line, he said, “In my experience, bachchon ko sab kuch karna chahiye. Sport ho, padhai ho, they should experience all sports. Jo bhi mann hai khelne ka (Children should experience everything. Whatever they are good at, they should pick it and work hard in it),” he expressed.
He further added, “I feel force utna hi karna chahiye jitne ki zarurat hai. That is a very thin line — kitna you can push your kid. In our generation, dads who were players would push a lot, including mine.”
During the same conversation, he revealed that he even coaches young players using lessons from his own childhood. While talking about mentoring cricketer Abhishek Sharma, he said, “Jo mere dad ne mujhe sikhaya hai aur jo mujhe lagta hai ki yeh cheez nahi karni chahiye, toh I can do better things around to get the same skill out (What my dad taught me and there were things I felt were wrong. I felt I could do different things and get the same skill out).”
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Sharing a humorous anecdote, Yuvraj said, “For example, agar koi late hota hai ya discipline nahi hai toh matlab usse 50 rounds aur bhaga diye, 40 minute aur marwa di. Waise abhi Abhishek Sharma ko gym mein pocha marwaya tha. Uske baad woh late nahi hua (For example, if someone is perennially late and refusing to change their behaviour, it is not important that I make them do 50 rounds. I made Abhishek Sharma mop the gym, after that he was never late).”
Yograj Singh said he will show grandkids ‘no mercy’
In an earlier interview to SMTV, Yograj admitted that he was driven by vengeance when he decided to train Yuvraj as he had been unfairly ignored in his own career. This led to rifts between him and his family, but he said he has no regrets and would not show ‘any mercy’ if he is training his grandkids either.
“Yes, but the day Yuvi hands his children over to me, they will meet the same fate as he did. You can only forge gold through fire. There will be no mercy, because there is only one path… That’s what they fear, and that’s why we aren’t together.”
What Yuvraj Singh said about Yograj Singh earlier
During a conversation with Sania Mirza earlier, Yuvraj Singh elaborated how his relationship with his father changed after he started training him for cricket. “When I was a kid, he was a father. When he started coaching me, he was never a father after that, he was a coach. That’s probably the saddest part. What parents learn, they pass on to their children. We have to learn from that and be better for our kids. He did what he knew at that time, but it’s a very thin line as a parent.”
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In a separate conversation with Saurav Yaduvanshi earlier, Yograj Singh had also talked about the cricket icon’s childhood, recalling a particular incident when he threw Yuvraj’s medal. “I wanted my son to get revenge for me, from the system, the selectors, and all those who laughed at me. Yuvraj was skating at a competition one day and he got a lot of medals. We sat in the car and I took his medals and threw them out of the car. This was the wrong thing to do. Then I took his skates and threw them out and he started crying,” he said.
Yuvraj Singh tied the knot with British-Mauritian actress and model Hazel Keech in 2016. The couple welcomed their first child, a son named Orion Keech Singh, in 2022, and a daughter named Aura, in 2023.
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